How to expand a .ZIP file using Windows XP

Scenario:  You have received an email message, and there is a file attachment with a .ZIP extension.  This file is known as an archive “ZIP” file.  Combining one or more files into one “archive” allows the files to be compressed into one smaller file, and is a much more efficient way to send multiple files through email.  

It may help to think of a .ZIP archive file as a magic bag with a zipper.  This bag holds much more inside than would seem possible by its size on the outside, because each item you place into the bag is “magically” shrunk down in size.  You place all your letters, pictures, etc. into the bag and then ZIP it shut.  You can then hand the bag to a friend instead of handing them each individual item one at a time.  When your friend opens the bag, each item is “un-shrunk” when it is taken out of the bag, with no harmful effects to the item.

PLEASE NOTE:

Email attachments can be dangerous!  If you receive an email with an attachment and weren’t expecting the message, DO NOT OPEN IT.  Computer viruses are most commonly spread through email messages, and even some “smart” viruses will email themselves to everyone in an unsuspecting victim’s address book, without the victim’s knowledge.   If you receive an unexpected email message with an attachment, ask the sender if they actually sent the attachment and what the attachment is BEFORE you open it. 

What you need:

You must have a program to uncompress the .ZIP file. A couple of popular commercial programs are listed at the bottom of this article. For purposes of this article, I’ll assume you are using Windows XP, since the software necessary to create and expand .ZIP files is built in to Windows.

How to do it:

  1. Create a folder on your desktop. Give it any short name you want.
  2. Save all the attachments to the new folder.
  3. Open the folder.
  4. Double click the attachment to open it.  If you have a program installed that handles archive files, that program will open the file.
  5. If you get a dialog asking to re-associate .ZIP files with Compressed (zipped) Folder, select No.
  6. If you have Folder Tasks turned on, you’ll see an option to “Extract all files.”  Click this option, and the Extraction Wizard will start.  If not, select File, Extract All from the menu.
  7. On the introduction screen, click Next.
  8. Keep all the default options, and click Next again.
  9. If you kept the default settings, a folder will be created on your desktop with the same name as the .ZIP file.  Open that folder to view your files.

That’s all there is too it!